Equipment to aid heart attack victims

HELEN KELLER HOSPITAL - Detecting and treating heart attack victims in Colbert and Lauderdale counties will get faster in the coming weeks thanks to upgrades and the purchase of new equipment.

The monitors and modems to transmit electrocardiogram information from patients on board the ambulance to emergency rooms at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield or Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence will put the area on the leading edge of diagnosis and early treatment for these patients.

Bruce Carson, emergency medical technician director for the Northwest Alabama Health Care Authority, which serves both hospitals, said the organization is the first to order and will be the first to use the equipment in the field.

"The equipment has been looked at by numerous hospitals across Alabama, but no one has implemented it," he said. "We'll be the trendsetters."

Helen Keller officials approved the $176,000 purchase, which included the upgrades to eight modems on board Keller EMS ambulances and six monitors on board Lauderdale EMS ambulances. Lauderdale EMS is an affiliate of Keller EMS. Lauderdale EMS recently took over the Lauderdale County coverage area from Northstar Ambulances services.

The equipment works by allowing emergency medical technicians on board the ambulance to transmit via wireless technology the EKG results from patients being treated for chest pain. In addition to being sent to the emergency room, EKG results can go directly to the personal digital assistant of the cardiologist on call.

If signs point to a heart attack, ER physicians would activate members of the cathertization lab at ECM who can perform invasive procedures on the patient.

Caleb Curtis, a shift supervisor at Lauderdale EMS and an EMT, said the technology has the potential to save lives simply by reducing the amount of time it takes for a patient to get treatment.

"We can bypass the ER and go directly to the cath lab, where everything is all set up," he said. "The time saved could be as much as 10 to 15 minutes, depending on where we are in the county."

Keller's cath lab is not equipped for these kinds of procedures, according to hospital spokeswoman Vanessa Gullett. She said expanding the services at Keller hospital would mean applying for a certificate of need from the state Health Planning and Development Agency.

"I'm not sure if there would be the need for another invasive heart facility, but there's always the possibility that we might move into doing stents and other invasive procedures," she said. "We've worked closely with ECM's cath lab for a number of years, and it's all about saving lives in the community."

Medical officials estimate to have the equipment installed and in use by early November.

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@TimesDaily.com.